Omaha daily bee., 1887-12-13
THE PRACTICES OF DoRsEYlsM
a strong Reply to the Assertions of
stephen w. DOrscy-A Powerful
Arraignment OF exOnicials-
Land Stealing in New Mexico.
Mriit,n for The Omaha Be.

makes Wnat ne calls e1Olnuef W
my article on Land Stealing in New
Mexico" | find il a palpable misnomer,
for he does not even attempt n reply to
the mass OF facts which constitute my
indictment against the rogues OF this
territory. "A brief notice of his per-
formance may, however, be deemed
proper. In some respects Mr.. Dorsey is
Il formidable antagonist. He one e held
seat in the national senate from the
state Of Arkansas. where he will long
be remembered as the genius who
happily blended in himself the trai is
both of the carpet bagger and the
scalawag. He has held high places
and welded large powers as party
leader. He has shown uncommon
ability in exploiting the mail service
of the United States. and in eluding
the hand of Justice. Probably no man
in the union is so thoroughly acquainted
with the whole business of "land steal
ing" In this interesting field of
activity l believe he has a national
reputation as an expert. His selection
as the apologist and defender of the
tribe of which he is the acknowledged
chief. is therefore altogether APP
propriatc: and their cause will have to
is not able to defend it.
Mr.. Dorsey damages his case in the
outset by his bad temper. His personal
abuse is too fervent and emotional. He
should have remembered that the
spaniel under the lash only yelps when
it is touchingly applied. The article
to which he pretends to reply was dis
passionately written. / only referred to
individuals where my task made it nee
cssary. dealing entirely IN facts: and if
Mr.. Dorsey had kept cool, and applied
himself honestly to the work of answer
ing them, he might have had the SYM
pathy. if not the respect. OF the public.
He also weakcns his case by dragging
party politics into the discussion. He
has done this without any provocation
whatever. His effort to show that dem
ocrats as well as republicans are in
vO.vcd in the exposures | have made is
not a response to anything | said. |
have no dispute with him on that point.
My article is thoroughly non-partisan.
In Overhauling the frauds connected
with the Spanish and Mexican grants
in New Mexico | struck right and left.
pursuing every ugly fact into its hiding
place. without the least concern as to
whether it would damage this party or
that. think the purpose of Mr.. Dor
| real issue is perfectly transparent. He
has become tired of hanging on the
outer wall of politics. and hopes
| to regain his lost place of honor in the
republican party. ] sympathiae with
| him in his distress. but he will find him
| self utterly disappointed. The days of
his political glory are past. because. as
I am convinced, the leaders and the
masses of all parties regard him as
| hopelessly pilloried before the nation as
| a star route thief. He smells of the
penitentiary, and no fumigatiOn is possi-
| BILE. To every honest man in the re-
| public the mere mention of his name
| suggests the striped costume OF the
| crew whose fellowship he escaped
through the miscarriage Of public JUS
| tice.
| Mr.. Dorsey damages his cause still
more fatally by his absolute reckless
ness in dealing with matters of fact. In
attacking me personally he succeeds in
missing the truth IN every statement he
makes. In pretending to give my pedi.
| gree. for instance, he says that nearly
| fifty years ago ! was elected to Office as
a pro-slavery democrat, and that, de-
featcd for reelection. left my party.
He also says that after had posed as "a
| free-sOiler | became II conservative
| whig. These ridiculous statements will
only provoke the laughter of my old
| friends. He knows that after begin
! ming my political life as whig | be-
came a member and leader OF the free
| soil party in 1S4S, and so continued till
it was merged in the republican party
in 1856: and that | remained in that
party till the Greeley campaign of 1872,
when joined its fathers and founders
in walking out of it on account of its
shameless misdeeds, in which Mr.. Dor
scy was disgracefully conspicuous.
He says that in my eye There was
no public crime of which Ulysses S.
Grant was not guilty." and that to his
personal knowledge l denounced Cen
eral Garfield at every cross-road in IN
diana as "A "thicf," II ''bribe-taker,' a
"bribe-giver," land ''perjurer." The
extravaganza of these statements de-
stroys them. and Mr.. Dorsey knew them
to be base fabricatiOns when he penned
them. l have in past years criticized
the administration of General Grant
and some OF the acts of General Garfield
but i'm doing so | did not appear in the
role of blackguard, in which Mr.. Dor
sey is always very shining figure.
refer to these and kindred fabrications
about myself solely as illustrations OF
the marvellous bent of his mind towards
the habit of lying, and not by any
means in self-defense. In this case Mr.
Dorsey is the defendant and culprit
and frankly confess myself hopelessly
lost. if need to be defended against
any conceivable charges emanating
from such Il source. They can only tent
to enthrone me in the hearts OF all hon
| est men.
He asserts that mainly through my
exertions nearly four hundred citizens
Of New Mexico have been indicted fol
land frauds. and that every man tried
has been acquitted. He says there il
not n grain or shadow of truth, tina
there have been, or are now frauds com
mitted to any extent in New Mexico
under the homestead and pre-emptiol
laws Mr.. Dorsey makes Gulliver re
spectacle. AS to his -four hundred
citizens of New Mexico" (if there wer,
so many he knows that had nothin
whatever to do with their indictment
and that this was the work Of the Crane
iuries. aided by the district attorne.
and the special agents Of the govern
ment. He knows also that quite IA mum
Der OF these men have been convicted
and that nearly all of those who hav
been tried escaped only through
the saving grace Of the statut
L. L